Department of Veterans Affairs Health Headlines

Medical Center130 W. Kingsbridge Rd

Bronx, NY 10468 (718) 741-4273

Fax (718) 741-4269

For Immediate Release

June 24, 2010

Air Force Lt. Ian J. Brown Demonstrates ReWalk™

JJP and Rick Hansen Institute Collaborate to Benefit Spinal Cord Injured Patients Event Features Demonstration of the Ground-breaking ReWalk™ Device

BRONX, NY – On Tuesday, June 21, 2011, Iconic Canadian Paralympian, philanthropist

and world-renowned accessibility advocate Rick Hansen, traveled to New York City, to sign

a memorandum of understanding in the field of spinal cord injury (SCI) research, with the

James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJPVAMC), Bronx, NY. This collaboration will work

specifically with VA investigators from the Rehabilitation, Research & Development

(RR&D) National Center of Excellence for the Medical Consequences of Spinal Cord Injury

at the JJPVAMC.

The Rick Hansen Foundation is currently celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Rick Hansen’s

“Man In Motion World Tour,” whereby Hansen wheeled through 34 countries across 25,000

miles from 1985-87 to raise awareness of the potential of people with disabilities. The $26

million raised from the Tour has since been leveraged into $245 million via the Rick

Hansen Foundation over the past quarter century.

”Partnering with world-class research facilities in order to develop collaboration around

clinical trials, research and implementation of best practices is a tangible step in

accelerating progress towards a cure for paralysis from spinal cord injuries,” said Rick

Hansen, President and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation. “The American innovation we

have seen today is a testament to the incredible progress being made in SCI research, and

we are excited for what the future possibilities that continued U.S.-Canadian collaboration

will bring.”

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY is the first U.S. facility to collaborate with

the Rick Hansen Institute. The VA’s National Center of Excellence’s mission is to improve

their patients’ quality of life, health and well-being and increase their longevity by

identifying, intervening, and/or preventing the secondary medical consequences that result

from having a spinal cord injury.

“This is a truly exciting opportunity to meet Rick and to begin a productive collaboration

between our Department of Veterans Affairs National Center of Excellence and the Rick

Hanson Foundation and Institute,” said William A. Bauman, MD, Director, RR&D Center

for the Medical Consequences of Spinal Cord Injury. “I anticipate this partnership to

generate an ongoing, concerted effort to share our mutual resources, to advance our

understanding, and to improve the lives of persons with spinal cord injury in the United

States and Canada.”

After the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, Hansen was given a

demonstration of innovative therapeutic and physical training solution, the ReWalk™

device, an exoskeletal system, which enables a person with complete motor paraplegia to

stand, walk or ascend/descend stairs by wearing the device over their legs. It is operated

via a small backpack. The demonstration was given by Lieutenant Ian James Brown, a U.S.

Air Force Veteran with a Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Degree from the

U.S. Air Force Academy, who was injured in the line of duty in 2002.

“This has been an unprecedented endeavor and I am extremely fortunate to be able to pay-

forward a ‘thank you’ to all those who sacrificed their time and effort in medical research

prior to my line-of-duty injury in the Air Force,” said Lieutenant Ian James Brown, retired

U.S. Air Force Veteran. “The ReWalk represents the tip of the technological spear and is

one of the most significant mobility aides since the invention of the wheelchair.”

For more information related to this story or the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, please

contact Jim Connell, Director of Community and Government Relations, at 718.584.9000,

Ext. 6620.

Additional Photos:

Rick Hansen meets Air Force Veteran, Ian James Brown (seated in ReWalk device).

Rick Hansen looks on as Ian James Brown demonstrates the ReWalk

The James J. Peters VA ReWalk Team with Rick Hansen (Back row, l – r, Shevana Swaby,

Dr. William A. Bauman, Ann M. Spungen, Drew Fineberg, Pierre Asselin; front row Rick

Hansen and Lt. Ian James Brown)